Hand truck



Jan. 29, 1957 Filed Sept, l, 1950 s. D. LAPHAM HAND TRUCK 5 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 29, 1957 s. D. L APHAM 2,779,492

HAND TRUCK Filed Sept. l. 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2' S. D. LAPHAM Jan. 29, 1957 HAND TRUCK Filed Sept, l, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 29, 1957 s. D. L APHAM 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jan. 29, 1957 s. D. LAPHAM I 2,779,492

' HAND TRUCK l Filed Sept. l, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 This invention relates to hand trucks, and more par- '.ticularly to hand trucks for transporting oil drums and the like and for manipulating such drums on and oif platforms such as pallets and weighing scales.

Drums of the character involved loaded with oil or chemicals have a weight in the order of 500 to 1,000 vpounds and their transport and manipulation within the contines of a plant or warehouse problem.

is always a serious In general, the object of this invention is the provi- :sion of a hand truck including a pair of parallel, closely :spaced and downwardly bowed beams terminating at .their upper ends in diverging handle bars, provided at their lower ends with a crosspiece or fork including forwardly extending, transversely spaced tines, and which serves as a frame on which other sub assemblies can be detachably mounted.

Extending laterally from the sides of the crosspiece or fork are shank extensions, andformed on the ends of these extensions are forwardly extending elevator levers and rearwardly extending brackets. Mounted between the shank and each of these brackets are grooved rollers particularly designed for manipulating the hand truck onto and from platforms, such as wooden pallets or steel strip skeleton pallets of the character disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 785,040, tiled November 10, 1947 and now Patent No. 2,662,710. Adjustably secured to the truck beams rearwardly of the cross-V piece or fork are ground engaging wheels.

Slidably mounted on the beams forwardly of theirf handle bars is a chime hook arranged to lock over the upper chime of a barrel carried by the truck, the upper end of the barrel being supported by an arcuate cradle or saddle associated with the chime hook. The construction of the chime hook is such that the greater the load to which it is subjected, the more securely it is locked to the truck beams.

',Also adjustably mounted on the .beams between the` ground engaging wheels and the chime hook is a downwardly extending ring serving as a truck manipulating member and support.

Optionally, a second set of rollers may be mounted on the truck beams intermediate the first set of rollers above mentioned and the ground `engaging wheels, and

which lie on centers inwardly of the centers of thev ground engaging wheels.

' The invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which with the foregoing will be set forth at length in the following description Where that form of the invention which has been selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the present specification is outlined in full. In said drawings, one form of the invention is shown, but it is tobe understood that it is not limited to such form, since the invention as set forth in the claims may be embodied in a plurality of forms. :Referring to. the drawings:

Figf'l is a perspective view of a barrel truck em` nited States Fatent CIT of the truck, illustrating the chime hook and wherein an` oil drum has been indicated in dot-dash line in its operative position relative to the truck.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detail section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a cross section of the crosspiece or fork taken on the section line 7 7 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the lower end of the truck, showing its cross member or fork in its operative relation with respect to a skeleton pallet of the type shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. 785,040, above referred to.

Fig. 9 is a side view of the truck as shown in its initial position when picking up an oil drum.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view of the lower end `of my truck., carrying an oil drum and in its initial positionl when manipulating the drum onto a skeleton pallet of the type above referred to.

Fig. l1 is a side view of the lower end of my truck,

carrying a barrel and shown just after the truck and its load have been elevated onto a skeleton pallet.`

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 10 but showing the truck being elevated onto a standard wooden pallet.

Fig. 13 is a side elevation of my truck similar to the view shown in Fig. 12 but illustrating its use in `elevating an oil drum onto a pair of weighing scales provided with` a special bed of a construction similarto the skeleton pallet referred to. t

Fig. 14 is a top plan view of a hand truck of the charac-i ter above described but which is provided with an fauxiliary set of rollers and is shown in itsoperative position over a standard wooden pallet.

Fig. l5 is a side elevation ofthe truck shown in Fig. 14, but with the gear ground-engaging wheel broken away to better illustrate the construction ofthe device.

The truck shown in these drawings comprises a frame assembly generally designated by the reference numeral 1 and including a pair of parallel, downwardly bowed beams 2 and 3 preferably made of structural steel tubing `h eld in closely spaced relation adjacent their upper` ends by a spacer 4 welded thereto and bent outwardly at their upper ends to form handle bars 2a and 3a. The lower ends of the beams 2 and 3 are receivable and welded in apair of transversely spaced sockets formed in a Ycrosspiece, head or fork generally designated by the reference numeral 5 and including a shank 6 and a pair' of transversely spaced, forwardly extending tines 7 and 8 said tines, as clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, being disposed inwardly of the ends of the shank. The fork .l 5 and' beams 2 and 3 therefore serve as an integral strucform of a steel casting. having a coredv under-surfacefas f best illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 7. Formed integral with the shank 6 are lateral extensions 11 and 12, each provided with a forwardly extending lever or elevator 13 and with a rearwardly extending bearing bracket 14. Preferably the outer ends of the elevatorsv 13 lie somewhat above the plane determined by the fork` tines 7 and 8. Journaled to and between the brackets 14 andk shoulders 15 formed in the shank 6 are a pair of solid alloy steel rollers 16, each provided with a central groove 17 and each being substantially tangent with the plane determined by the lower faces of the tines 7 and 8. Formed on each of the heels of tines '7' and 8 is a notch 13 delined by a forwardly inclined walll 19k and a front wall' or shoulder 21 formed at right angles with the lower surface of its tine. As illustrated in the drawings, the notches 18 serve as pallet grips when manipulating the truck onto a standard wooden pall-et.

In this connection, ity should be observed' that standard oil drums have a diameter of about 231/2 inches. This dimension determines the spacing of the tines 7' and 8, for the tines must pass between two adjacent rails`- of the skeleton pallet above referred to and theseI rolls are spaced so as to support a drum inl stable equilibrium. Briey, a palletv of this type consists of a lower set of four parallel steel strip rails welded at rightangles to an upper identical set of four parallel steel strip rails in edge-to-edge` relation so as tovform a symmetrical' grid structure.` Each pair of rails is so spaced thatv whenA an oil* drum is supported thereon, it willbe4 in stable equilibrium when either in a vertical position or in a horizontal position. When the d-rurn is in ahorizontal' position, the two adjacent rails serve as a cradle therefor. As a result of `this construction, it-is possible to load` and unload the pallet by means of a fork lift truckV as Wellasto pickv up the loaded pallet on a lift truck.

Adjustably mounted on the beams 2 and 3 is a cast.

alloy steel axle 22 provided with a central pillow block 23. Disposed over theA pillow block 23 is a clamp 24 provided with sockets 25 complementary to the beams Zand4 3, the pillow block andfcglamp being heldin clamping engagement with` the beams by a bolt 26. Journaled onfthe ends of the axle 22 are rubber-tired, ground engaging wheels 27 located in substantial alignment with the grooves 17 formed in the rollers 16. Formed as an integral part of the axle 22 is a downwardly extending, centrally located foot pedal'ZS-foraiding in manipulatingA the truck. Preferably, the axle 22' is located atj a substantial distance rearwardly of the crosspiece or fork 6` to the end that a substantial proportion of the weight of a drum-supported on the truck will be carriedforwardly of the axle.l The' purpose of this is twofold'. first place, it-decreases thel load required to be supported byv the operator and, inthe second place, it makes iti possible toelevate the forward end of thehead-piece or fork of the. truckfto a height sufficient to enablethe elevators 13 tobe hooked over the edge ofa lskeleton pallet or other platform.

Adjustably mounted-on the beamsilj and 3"rearwardl'yg` of` theA ground engaging wheelsl 27 isa metal ring 29 provided with a bolt hole for the reception ofy a bolt 31; The ring 29 is adjustably secured to the beams 2 and 3' by upper and lower clampss32fand 33 provided with registering holes fory .the reception of theA bolt 3l'. andlserves' the dualv function of an` auxiliary foot lever for assisting in breaking over,4 a loaded truck and for retractingv the; tines 7 andgS from beneath thev lower end of ia drumwhen thefloor.

Mountedbetween the` ring y29 andthe spacer-4 is a downwardly extending, spring-biased chime hook 34.-

The upper ondof the hook 34 is pivotedto a bifurcated bracket 35 weldedtoian upper clampastraddling the.

hole 37 for;` thereceptionofa pin-1 38;' Formedintegral`v` In the i a hand grip 39 provided with a shoulder 4l at its upper end for limiting the outward movement of the pin 38. Slidable between the beams 2 and 3 and formed with arcuate sides complementary to the beams is a slide d2. Welded to the slide 42 and extending upwardly therefrom is a bracket 43 provided with a hole i4 for the free reception of the pin 38. Mounted on the pin 3S is a spring 45 serving to bias the two clamps 36 and 36a into resilient clamping engagement with the beams 2 and Welded to the slide 42 on the upper end thereof is an arcuate cross member or cradle d6 for the accommodation of the upper end of a drum supported on the truck.

From an inspection of Fig. 9, it will be noted that when breaking over a drum from its upright position onto the truck, the lower end of the chime hook 34 will be pulled outwardly and that this, in turn, results in more tightly engaging the clamps 36 and 36a about the beams 2 and 3. As the drum is inclined more and more toward the operator, the load on the chime hook 34 will be decreased and the pressure on the clamp will be relieved, thereby permitting the chime hook assembly to,

move upwardly as the tines i and ti of the fork d are moved beneath the bottom of the drum. rlhe biasingl action of the spring 45 is merely suiticient to lightly hold the hook in any adjusted position.

When used in manipulating drums onto and from a wooden pallet, the truck is preferably provided withl a pair of auxiliary rollers Li7 mounted between the rollers 16 and the ground engaging wheels 27 and inwardly thereof as illustrated in Figs, 14 and l5. The rollers 47A are journaled on stub shafts 48 formed integral with a downwardly and forwardly extending cast alloy steel bracket 49 and pillow block 51. The pillow block S1 is clamped to the beams 2 and 3 by a clamp 52 provided with beam seats on its lower face and with a bolt hole for the reception of the bolt 53 extending therethrough and threaded to the pillow block.

From the above description, it will be seen that basical- 1yl my truck consists of a` pair of parallel, downwardly bowed and closely spaced beams formed integrally at its lowerfend with a crosspiece, head member or fork,l the beams serving as a frame on which the wheel assembly, roller assembly, ring assembly and chime hook assembly can be adjustably mounted by means of simple, conventional' clamps without the necessity of resorting to additionalk structural members. and 3 is such that when a truck is loaded with a drum andl in its carrying position, the entire system, that is, the truck plus its load, is in substantial equilibrium, thereby requiring the operator to support only a minimum ofthe load. Since the ground engaging wheels 27 are located substantially to the rear of the head-piece or fork 5, that port-ion of the truck forward of the wheels functions as a lever weighted by the fork and roller assemblies and p serving to balance they loaded system. Furthermore,

thel'location of? the ground engaging wheels, 2 7 can be.;

readilyv adjustedrto suit the type of load being handled. As shown in Fig. 8, a hand truck of the character above disclosed is being used in conjunction with a skeleton pallet such as above described with the grooves 17 of the rollers lsupported on two adjacent pallet rails and Y with the ground engaging wheels 27 tracking with the thed-rurnA isnsupportedon endon eitherV a pallet; or on5 rollers 16.

Normally, and as indicated in Figs. 14'/ and 1.5, there IntraversingI suchl al deck; either the ground engaging wheels-27 4or the forward rollers 16', or both ofi them, may'enter the cracks and thus make the further manipuf' lation ofthe truck extremely diicult. It is therefore essential" for this use that the truck be provided with the auxiliary sety of the laterally offset rollers 47 and' which serve to support the truck between adjacent cracks 54.

In so far as I am aware, therehasbeen no attemptjn the past,y to manipulate a drum onto and from a; platfggm The bow in the beams 2y 'th aS-a pallet by means of a truck; thiso'perationnorrnally` beingfconsidered as a hand operation requiring considerable strength; and skill on the part of the `operator and often resulting in injury to the pallet. However, asY indicated inFig. 13, the levers or elevators 13 make it possible fora drum to be elevated to afplatform by lowering the handle barsv of the truck to elevate the elevators 13 to a position over the lip of the weighing scales or one of the side rails of the pallet. With the elevators inthis position, the truck then becomes 4a second class lever by which the drum can be lifted to its upright position supported by the weighing scales or the pallet. The intermediate portions of the elevators function as skids which can be made to slide over the lip of the scales or the skeletonpallet until, as shown in Fig. 11, the rollers 16 come into contactgwith the rails ofthe pallet or the scales. r, From this position, the drum can be properly located on the pallet or scales and then uprighted. When discharging a drum from a platform of this character, vthe reverse operation can be resortedto.

",If it is 4desired to mount a drum onto a woodenpallet of standard construction and which4 is not provided with a lip or side rails, resort is had tothe notches 18lformed in the" heels of the tines 7 and 8, this operation being illus trated in Fig. l2. Here again the handle bars of the truck are lowered to elevate the fork assembly until the upper corner` of the pallet is engaged in the notches 18. In this position, the truck constitutes a second class lever by which the drum can be elevated onto the platform and then, as illustrated in Figs. 14 and 15, trundled over the pallet into proper position and discharged thereon in a vertical position.

In all of these operations the foot pedal 28 and the ring 29 of course come into play and are used when desired.

I claim:

1. A hand truck comprising: a downwardly bowed beam provided at its upper end with diverging handle bars and at its lower end with a fork including a shank having an arcuate forward edge and transversely spaced, forwardly extending tines; forwardly extending elevator levers formed integral with said shank, the outer ends of said levers lying on a plane substantially above the plane determined by the tines of said fork; and ground engaging wheels mounted on said beam substantially rearwardly of said fork.

2. A hand truck comprising: a downwardly bowed beam provided at its upper end with diverging handle bars and at its lower end with a fork including a shank having an arcuate forward edge serving as a drum cradle and provided with transversely spaced forwardly extend ing tines, the heels of said tines being notched for the accommodation of the lip of a pallet or other platform; and ground engaging wheels mounted on said beam sub stantially rearwardly of said fork. i

3. A hand truck comprising: a pair of parallel closely spaced, downwardly bowed beams, said beams being divergent at their upper ends to form hand grips and provided at their lower ends with a fork including a shank and transversely spaced, forwardly extending coplanar tines; lateral extensions formed integral with said shank, the ends of said extensions being provided with rearwardly extending brackets and forwardly extending elevator levers; grooved rollers mounted to and between each of said brackets and said shank; ground engaging wheels mounted on said beams substantially rearwardly of said fork and in alignment with said grooved rollers; and auxiliary rollers mounted on said beams between said grooved rollers and said ground engaging wheels, said auxiliary rollers lying inwardly with respect to said ground engaging wheels and grooved rollers.

4. A hand truck comprising: a pair of parallel, longitudinally arcuate beams secured together adjacent their ends in closely spaced relation and forming a central channel, the upper ends of said beams being divergently bent to form a pair of handle bars; a first clamp member disposed transversely over the rear faces of said beams; a second clamp member disposed transversely over the front faces of said beams, said second clamp member being provided with an outwardly extending bracket; a hook pivoted to said bracket; a pin extending freely through `an aperture formed in said hook, through said channel and through an aperture formed in said rst clamp member; a spring disposed between said hook and said beams for resiliently urging said hook outwardly and urging said clamp member into engagement with said beams; a fork mounted on the lower ends of said beams, said fork including a transversely arcuate shank serving as a drum` cradle and transversely spaced, forwardly extending tines, said tines being disposed inwardly of the ends of said shank; and ground engaging wheels mounted on said beams rearwardly of said fork.

5. A hand truck comprising: a pair of parallel, longitudinally arcuate beams secured together adjacent their ends in closely spaced relation and forming a central` channel, the upper ends of said beams being divergently bent to form a` pair of handle bars; a first clamp member disposed transversely over the rear faces of said beams; a second` clamp member disposed transversely over the front faces of said beams, said second clamp member being provided with an outwardly extending bracket; a hook pivoted to said bracket; a pin extending freely through an aperture formed in said hook, through said channel and through an aperture formed in said rst clamp member; a spring disposed between said hook and said beams for resiliently urging said hook outwardly and urging said clamp members into engagement with said beams; a fork mounted on the lower ends of said beams, said fork including a transversely arcuate shank serving as a drum cradle and transversely spaced, forward extending tines; a lateral extension formed on each end of said shank, each of said extensions being provided with a forwardly extending elevator lever disposed above the plane determined by said tines; and ground engaging wheels mounted on said beams to the rear of said fork.

6. A hand truck comprising: a pair of parallel, longitudinally arcuate beams secured together adjacent their ends in closely spaced relation and forming a central channel, the upper ends of said beams being divergently bent to form a pair of handle bars; a rst clamp member disposed transversely over the rear faces of said beams; a second clamp member disposed transversely over the front faces of said beams, said second clamp member being provided with an outwardly extending bracket; a hook pivoted to said bracket; a pin extending freely through an aperture formed in said hook, through said channel and through an aperture formed in said rst clamp member; a spring disposed between said hook and said beams for resiliently urging said hook outwardly and urging said clamp members into engagement with said beam; a fork mounted on the lower ends of said beams, said fork including a transversely arcuate shank serving as a drum cradle and transversely spaced, forwardly extending tines; a lateral extension formed on each end of said shank, each of said extensions being provided with a rearwardly extending bracket; a roller mounted between each of said brackets and said shank, said rollers being substantially tangent with the plane determined by the lower faces of said tines; and ground engaging wheels mounted on said beams rearwardly of said fork.

7. A hand truck comprising: a pair of parallel, longitudinally arcuate beams secured together adjacent their ends in closely spaced relation and forming a central channel, the upper ends of said beams being divergently bent to form a pair of handle bars; a first clamp member disposed transversely over the rear faces of said beams; a second clamp member disposed transversely over the front faces of said beams, said second clamp member being provided with an outwardly extending freely through/an aperturefforrned-in saidhook, through said channel-"tandy throughl an 'a'perture formed f in said rst'clamp-mem'ber'; a spring 'disposed between said hook andsaid"beams;f'for-iresilientlyl urgingl saidvhook outwardlyfandeu'rgifng said 'clamp ymembers1 into* 'engagement withsaidv beams; afork -mounted''on the ylower ends of said beams, lsaid -forkf :includingl a transversely 1 arcuate shank-servingasV a; drum'crad'le and transverselyspaced, forwardly extending"tines;` a lateral extension formed on each end offsaidfshank,"eachfof said extensions being provided with'auforwardly*'extending elevator lever disposedf .above thefplane determined by` said tinesandy a rearwardly lextendingbracket?aroller mounted to and between Aeachjfoff-said* brackets'andwaid shank, vsaid rollers' being substantially tangentftwith :the planev determinedbywtheslower!faces/osaidtines; and ground engaging wheels mounted on lsaidsbeams .rearwardly of vsaid fork.

`8HA:hand"truck:'corrfprisingz azpair ofparallel, longitudinally arcuate beams securedtogether.adjacent their ends 1infc1oselycspaced relation `and forming a central channel,- the:upperen'dsA of said beams being'divergently bent `to formi a :pairof l'hand1e.bars;;afirstclamp-mem ber 'disposed transversely over Vthe rear 'faces' of said beams; aVK second fc`1amp*'member' disposed transversely overt-,the-V frontf'facesl of-said` beams, said-'second clamp m'ember'fbeing-- :provided'with auf-'outwardly vextending braeketiafhl .faivetecli-toI saicrrbraeketi 15in extending freely :through-f Ianila'perture formedfin said hook, ,through said"chan`nel\ andfY through an iaperture*f'orn'redfin*said rst'clamp member; a sprngldisposed-between "'s'aidhook and'said tbeamsefor resiliently urging said'i-hook-foutwardly `andrurging I saidffclamp members into" engagement with f said 'beamsx affork fmounted'lon` the =lowerer`rds of said v beams,- said: forkaincluding y a` transverselyV arcuate shankl s'erving-'asl a drumcradle and transversely spaced, forwardly extending: tines; each of ksaid'tines vbeing formed on its lower faceiwith-laf-transverse upwardly 'extending notch; and; groundy engagingfwheels mountedron said beams rearwardly of saidz fork.

i References ited inf-the ,tile of` this; patent MU-NITEDSTATESPATENTS .r H l 322,150 iv-Barbws. Jujly '14, 511855 1,429,918 'Auen y sept.; 1216,; 1922 1,442,560 Fanrney Jian.16,19g3 1,615,919 suenen, 1,= eb.1,t 1927 2,346,649 4nner 'e1-a1 JApnia 1944 12,385,514 Hawkins s eptf'zs, 1945 f 2,447,300 wiuia'ms :Ag.` 117," 194s 2,541,613 l1Ro ;Feb; 13,: 1951 FREIGN 'PATENTS 

